(APPLETON, WI) — February 3, 2020 — Record-breaking new grants of nearly $6 million have been awarded to 225 nonprofit organizations supporting innovative programs helping those in need throughout Northeast Wisconsin. Collaborating nonprofits/organizations were granted funds for programs addressing the root causes of poverty through the community foundations in Green Bay, Fox Valley and Oshkosh.

Funding breakdowns are:
• Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region awarded new grants of $2,699,853 and distributed $2,410,354 to multiple year grants;
• Greater Green Bay Community Foundation awarded new grants of $1,836,052 and distributed $1,229,934 to multiple year grants;
• Oshkosh Area Community Foundation awarded new grants of $1,437,629 and distributed $1,048,181 to multiple year grants;
• Regional awarded grants of $758,993;
• National awarded new grant of $400,000

Grants are focused on programs that reduce poverty by creating economic stability, increasing access to education, building family support and social connection, and improving health and wellness. Funding for the grants is generated by the annual U.S. Venture Open, the nation’s single largest one-day charitable event dedicated to ending poverty. In 2019, the event raised $5.24 million for the Basic Needs Giving Partnership, and 100% of every dollar donated is invested in the fund. In the 34-year history of the U.S. Venture Open, $32 million has been granted to regional nonprofits.

“We are excited to be able to provide this level of funding to facilitate and support the unique, collaborative work in the region. We should all should be proud of the hard work happening by all of the organizations receiving grants,” said Greg Vandenberg, Director of Giving and Community Engagement for U.S. Venture. “Poverty is a complex issue that requires complex work to solve it and we need to continue to fund programs that are working to end it.”

A grantmaking match of $800,000 from the J. J. Keller Foundation, $250,000 from Oshkosh Corporation and $200,000 from both ThedaCare and the Thrivent Foundation lead this effort. Three community foundations review and award grants to regional nonprofits that address poverty.

“We continue to be amazed by the generosity of our partners who continue to make significant investments,” Vandenberg said. “They are dedicated to supporting and transforming this regional initiative to address poverty while knowing we are stronger working together.”

Recipients of the Basic Needs Giving Partnership Grants for 2019 are:

2019 Basic Needs Giving Partnership Grants
$5,973,534 in new grant commitments
$4,688,469 in total grants distributed

Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region
$2,699,853 in new grant commitments
$2,410,354 in grants distributed

NEW GRANTS

Apricity Comprehensive Community Services: $8,000
Planning grant to hire a consultant to assist Apricity Residential Treatment division with the proper steps and procedures in which to become a Comprehensive Community Services (CCS) approved provider.
Recipient: Apricity

First Time Parent Support Initiative: $9,500
Planning grant to develop and pilot an initiative that ensures a healthy start for children born in our community.
Collaborators: Family Services, Early Intervention of Winnebago & Outagamie Counties, Lawrence University, Building for Kids

Wisconsin Veterans Village Navigator: $67,140 (Year 1 of 3, $201,420 total)
To staff the emerging Wisconsin Veterans Village with a “navigator” who will help connect Veterans to internal and external services appropriate to their needs.
Collaborators: Wisconsin Veterans Village Association, Goodwill Industries, ThedaCare, Outagamie County Housing Authority, Fox Valley Technical College

Individual Placement Support Services Program (IPS): $101,891 (Year 1 of 3, $212,343 total)
To implement a new evidence-based IPS Services Program that helps those with severe and persistent mental health illness find, keep and thrive in jobs.
Collaborators: Valley Packaging Industries, Aspire Vocational Services, Outagamie County Mental Health, Wisconsin Department of Health Services, NAMI Fox Valley – Iris Place

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Support Program: $76,237 (Year 1 of 3, $295,491 total)
To develop and implement a TBI Support Program including services to survivors, whether or not they are living in homeless shelters, and educational programming.
Collaborators: SOAR Fox Cities, Pillars, Inc., Harbor House Domestic Abuse Programs, Apricity, Neuroscience Group, Christine Ann Domestic Abuse Services

Early Childhood Mental Health Therapy & Consultation: $100,000 (Year 1 of 3, $300,000 total)
To create a consultative approach to provide clinical mental health services to Appleton families and kids from birth through age five.
Collaborators: Community Early Learning Center, Bridges Child Enrichment Center, Appleton Even Start Family Literacy, Appleton Area School District Birth to Five, Early Intervention Birth to 3 Program, UW-Oshkosh Head Start, Child Care Resource & Referral, Catalpa Health

Strengthening Menasha from the Inside Out: $100,000 (Year 1 of 3, $300,000 total)
To strengthen, from the inside out, core Menasha neighborhoods by mobilizing neighbors to address their own neighborhood priorities. Through Neighborhood Partners’ Asset Based Community Development practice, neighbors share their knowledge, skills, interests and concerns with one another in interest groups, neighborly supports, teaching-learning connections, neighborhood organizations, and by working together on community improvement projects.
Collaborators: Neighborhood Partners, Menasha Senior Center, Boys & Girls Club of Menasha

Outagamie County SAFE Project: $73,000 (Year 1 of 3, $135,000 total)
To fund a new police officer, so an officer experienced with specialized training can become the Outagamie County Sheriff’s Behavioral Health Officer in charge of the SAFE Project.
Collaborators: NEW Mental Health Connection, Outagamie County Sheriff’s Department, Grand Chute Police Department, Kaukauna Police Department

Ready to Read Menasha: $19,200 (Year 1 of 3, $57,600 total)
To fund a Spanish-speaking Outreach Specialist to focus on encouraging use of the Elisha D. Smith Public Library by its Latinx community members, while also encouraging use of the library by all families with children in school.
Collaborators: Elisha D. Smith Public Library, City of Menasha, Menasha Joint School District, Appleton Public Library

Senior to Senior Connections: $100,000
To take capacity building steps that will lead to long-term viability of the Center while increasing our ability to reach and better serve more at-risk adults who find it difficult to get to the center without supportive services. Hire an Executive Director who will add new leadership and expertise to help meet future budgetary and program needs of the Center through strategic engagement with community, business and government stakeholders.
Collaborators: Thompson Center on Lourdes, St. Paul Elder Services, Hope Clinic

Great Futures 2020: $100,000 (Year 1 of 3, $300,000 total)
To support the addition of two new school-based Club sites that combined will serve an average of 200 low-income students each day and a combined total of 400 students each year for five school years beginning September 2020 at Little Chute Middle/Intermediate School and Madison Middle School.
Collaborators: Boys & Girls Club of the Fox Valley, Appleton Area School district, Little Chute Area School District

Strengthening Families: An Investment in Social Capital: $100,000 (Year 1 of 3, $300,000 total) To establish a presence in the Fox Cities in order to promote systems of natural support for families in crisis, diversion from homeless shelters and deflection from child welfare systems and foster care.
Collaborators: Safe Families for Children of Wisconsin, Pillars, Inc., Outagamie County Department of Health & Human Services, Harbor House Domestic Abuse Programs, Appleton Alliance Church

MULTI-YEAR GRANTS

Coming Home to Healthcare: $60,020 (Year 3 of 3, $295,000 total)
Expand the scope and reach of the Partnership Community Health Center’s clinic at COTS, serving new vulnerable patients living at or below the poverty level, reducing barriers to healthcare and introducing health literacy.
Collaborators: Partnership Community Health Center, COTS

Enhancing Educational Programming for 3-5 Year Olds: A Mindfulness-Based Kindness Project $81,775 (Year 2 of 3, $296,450 total)
To reduce poverty-based achievement gaps by implementing and testing a mindfulness-based curriculum with preschoolers.
Collaborators: Community Early Learning Center of the Fox Valley, Lawrence University, UW-Fox Valley, UW-Madison— Healthy Minds Innovation Team

Youth Housing: $90,000 (Year 3 of 3, $300,000 total)
Give young adults who have mental illness stable housing and customized, broad-based supportive services designed to build independence and healthy living skills.
Collaborators: Pillars, Inc, NAMI Fox Valley

Triumph: $69,680 (Year 3 of 3, $300,000 total)
Integrate wraparound mental health care and educational services, helping high school students successfully transition back to their home school after intensive mental health services.
Collaborators: Family Services of Northeast Wisconsin, Kimberly, Kaukauna and Little Chute School Area School Districts

F.R.E.S.H. Project: $89,392 (Year 3 of 3, $248,663.36 total)
Create a food system that gives low-income families the tools they need to secure healthy foods, improve their health and stretch their food dollars, which will help them move out of poverty.
Collaborators: Shawano United Methodist Church, Shawano County UW-Extension, Stockbridge-Munsee Community, Menominee Nation, Shawano/Menominee County Health Departments

ServiceWorks for At-Risk Youth: $74,960 (Year 3 of 3, $294,036 total)
Address unemployment and underemployment as a root cause of homelessness and poverty in high school youth through the ServiceWorks program.
Collaborators: Riverview Gardens, Appleton Area School District, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Fox Valley

Neenah School-Based Mental Health: $62,000 (Year 3 of 3, $300,000 total)
Develop and implement a comprehensive school-based mental health program for students in grades K-5.
Collaborators: Catalpa Health, Neenah Joint School District, NAMI Fox Valley, Samaritan Counseling Center of the Fox Valley

Project RUSH Manager: $70,000 (Year 4 of 4, $211,000 total)
Ensure broad-scale action and community impact from Project RUSH (Research to Understand and Solve Homelessness) by hiring a project manager who will implement and oversee the work in eight strategic areas of focus. Grant extended to four years.
Collaborators: Pillars, Inc, Housing Coalition members

Expanding a Recovery Community: $15,000 (Year 3 of 3, $115,000)
Open a third sober living house that supports long-term addiction recovery.
Collaborators: Apricity, Nova Counseling Services

Shawano Area Early Childhood Partnership: $63,218 (Year 1 of 3, $178,523 total)
Develop an early childhood coalition that will, among other things, work with vulnerable parents within their natural home environment using the Parents as Teachers model.
Collaborators: Family Services of Northeast Wisconsin, ThedaCare, Family and Childcare Resources of Northeast Wisconsin, Shawano County Department of Human Services

Single Room Occupancy Program: $60,000 (Year 1 of 3, $150,000 total)
Create a single room occupancy program for individuals currently living in shelter, who can pay rent but have barriers that keep them from renting in the housing marketplace.
Recipient: Pillars, Inc.

STAR Program: $100,000 (Year 2 of 3, $300,000 total)
Improve academic achievement levels, graduation rates, and post-secondary participation rates
of African-American and Black youth through creation of the STAR program.
Collaborators: Boys & Girls Clubs of the Fox Valley, African Heritage Inc., Menasha Joint School District, Appleton Area School District, Fox Valley Technical College (FVTC), Lawrence University

Education Advocate: $56,333 (Year 2 of 3, $168,403 total)
Double the capacity of the successful Education Advocate program which removes barriers and helps people enroll in GED, English Language Learning (ELL), and/or FVTC programs, with a long-range goal of improving their economic stability. Expanding the program will allow it to serve the communities of Chilton, Hortonville, Seymour and New London.
Collaborators: Fox Valley Technical College, LEAVEN

Community Resource Center: $42,173 (Year 2 of 3, $248,608 total)
Ensure effectiveness for the newly-created multi-agency LEAVEN Community Resource Center by adding needed staff and data management tools.
Collaborators: LEAVEN, FISC, St. Vincent de Paul, Fox Valley Technical College, Energy Services, Inc.

Almost Home Expansion: $22,711 (Year 2 of 3, $69,180 total)
Expand the Almost Home program, providing wraparound case management services helping at-risk families attain safe, affordable housing.
Collaborators: Greater Fox Cities Area Habitat for Humanity, Goodwill Industries of North Central Wisconsin

Pillars Day Resource Center: $190,000 (Year 1 & 2 of 3, $266,000)
To create a day resource center where people who are experiencing homelessness and not connected to services can access a hub of homelessness services.
Collaborators: Pillars, Inc., St. Matthew Lutheran Church

ACTIVE GRANTS*

Spanish Resource Advocate: ($118,995 total)
Hire a Spanish Resource Advocate who will build trust between basic needs agencies and the Hispanic community, educate service providers about best practices and provide culturally responsive services that increase access and lead to greater self-sufficiency.
Collaborators: St. Vincent de Paul, LEAVEN, Partnership Community Health Center

Counseling for Low Income Spanish Speakers: ($295,920 total)
Establish and strengthen a center of excellence for Spanish speakers to seek mental health treatment, education and support in one place, located close to the heart of our region’s Spanish-speaking neighborhoods.
Collaborators: Samaritan Counseling of the Fox Valley, NAMI Fox Valley
*Payments made outside of 2019

Greater Green Bay Community Foundation
$1,836,052 in new grant commitments
$1,229,934 in grants distributed

NEW GRANTS

Durable Medical Equipment (DME) Collaborative Planning: $15,000
Planning grant to assess, explore and plan for a new model/system of DME management. The growing need for low-cost DME has outpaced the collaborators’ ability to adequately respond. This compromises the health and safety needs of people with disabilities, older people, and those with unforeseen medical need.
Collaborators: Options for Independent Living, Aging & Disability Resource Center of Brown County

United Front for Social Change: $15,000
A planning grant to support the refugee and immigrant community in Northeast Wisconsin through a collective approach to health, employment, education, integration and advocacy.
Collaborators: COMSA, Forward Services Corp., Migration Advocacy Network, schools, health organizations, YWCA

Emergency Shelter for Underage Homeless Youth: $15,000
A planning grant to establish emergency shelter units for pregnant, parenting, and runaway underage youth in Brown County. Currently, underage homeless and unstably housed youth have no emergency shelter options outside of the criminal justice system. The state requires a shelter providing emergency shelter to underage youth be a certified group home. This grant will help prepare the group home application and create supportive programming to open an emergency shelter for underage youth.
Collaborators: House of Hope, Foundations, New Community Clinic, Brown County Homeless & Housing Coalition

Teen Farmers Market Program- Expansion Investigation & Planning: $20,054
Youth in foster care have dramatically worse life outcomes than youth not in out-of-home care, ranging from increased homelessness to unemployment. Extension Brown County partnered with organizations working with this population in 2018 to run a trial gardening-based job and healthy living skills-building program. Due to its success on a small scale, the planning grant funding will investigate expanding the scope and scale, to provide more benefits to more foster youth, improving long-term outcomes.
Collaborators: UW-Extension, Advocates for Healthy Transitional Living, Brown Co. Health & Human Services, CASA Brown County

Addressing Psychological Trauma in Schools: $15,000
Establishment of trauma-informed practices across the Green Bay Area Public School District, as a component of the Community Schools Partnership, will create systematic trauma-informed practices and processes at Howe Elementary School, with the intent of replicating these district-wide. It will enable students exhibiting signs of psychological trauma to be identified, assessed, and appropriately supported. Grant funds will pay for school staff and community partner training specific to the Collaborative and Proactive Solutions Model.
Collaborators: Brown County United Way, Green Bay Area Public School District, Howe Community Resource Center, Howe Elementary School

Turbo Go Centers Planning Project: $15,000
The project will identify strategies to most effectively begin introducing the concepts of career and academic planning in an age and culturally appropriate manner at targeted Green Bay middle schools. Grant funds will be used to facilitate the planning and design process, which will include mapping the current state, identifying gaps, and researching best practices/evidence-based models.
Collaborators: Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, Green Bay Area Public School District, Boys & Girls Club of Green Bay, UW-Green Bay

Achieve Brown County (ABC): $83,000 (Year 1 & 2 of 3, $250,000 total)
The Achieve Brown County model is designed to amplify the impact of existing organizations by integrating systems thinking and collaboration, while eliminating duplication of effort to create lean, sustainable improvement. ABC’s objective is to reduce the achievement gap so all young people in Brown County can ultimately find success in a job with a family-supporting wage.
Recipient: Achieve Brown County

Safe to Study-Homeless Student Housing Partnership: $50,000 (Year 1 of 3, $300,000 total)
The project is an effort to help students at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College (NWTC) who are financially struggling to secure housing that allows them to live independently and work towards their post-secondary education. The goal is: 1) find and assess students who are homeless or have unstable housing; 2) assist students in gaining access to the Brown County Coordinated Entry System for the Homeless; and 3) help students secure safe and stable housing, including financial assistance when needed.
Collaborators: NWTC, Family Services of Northeast Wisconsin

Be Great: Graduate School-Based Expansion: $50,000 (Year 1 of 3, $300,000 total)
This effort will connect a minimum of 105 students at risk of dropping out of school with the Boys & Girls Club’s academic mentoring program. The project is developed in response to Achieve Brown County’s recommendation to offer Be Great: Graduate as a proven mentoring intervention to support the highest-need students in Brown County middle and high schools. A grant is needed to add dedicated Graduation Specialists at seven schools across Brown County.
Collaborators: Boys & Girls Club of Greater Green Bay, Howard-Suamico, Denmark & Green Bay Area Public school districts

Navigating Our Wealth (NOW): $50,000 (Year 1 of 3, $300,000 total)
The project will improve Circles Green Bay’s capacity and effectiveness through a shared staffing model with The Salvation Army. Development of a Cliff Effect Calculator will use household data to predict financial pitfalls and help offset the financial crisis of the household as they move away from benefit dependency. The project will also gather, educate and rally the community to focus on developing a model that is inclusive of all groups serving households in poverty.
Collaborators: Circles Green Bay, The Salvation Army of Greater Green Bay

Dynamic Measurement & Community Engagement to Actively Improve Health Equity in Brown County: $105,750 (Year 1 of 3, $280,000 total)
This project combines data, technology and engagement to reduce health inequities in Brown County. Collaborators will implement an adapted version of the World Health Organization survey, successfully piloted in 2018, to gather information on the well-being of residents in Brown County. Complementing the data findings will be the introduction of StreetWyze in Greater Green Bay, an app to integrate real-time community-level engagement in the development of solutions. Funding will support the countywide implementation and analysis for data-driven interventions to improve health and reduce inequities.
Collaborators: Wello, St. Norbert College, UW-Green Bay, healthTIDE/Wisconsin

MULTI-YEAR GRANTS

Community Resource Empowerment Program: $78,250 (Year 3 of 3, $236,500 total)
Coordinated approach to assist those disconnected from the workforce, deficient in basic skills, underemployed and in need of assistance in attaining post-secondary education, specifically incarcerated, noncustodial unemployed parents, alcohol and other drug abuse or mental health patients and victims of domestic or sexual abuse in rural Oconto County.
Collaborators: New Beginnings Work & Training Center, Oconto County Sheriff’s Department, Bay Area Workforce Development, FALS-Oconto Falls Alternative School

Pathway to Self-Sufficiency: $100,000 (Year 3 of 3, $300,000 total)
An increased capacity to assist families in need of long-term supportive housing, including guidance to self-sufficiency, involves acquiring three duplexes and four single-family homes. Collaborations with partner organizations allow for a continuum of care for families ready to leave shelter or transitional housing but unable to find safe and affordable housing.
Collaborators: Ecumenical Partnership for Housing, The Salvation Army, Golden House, Freedom House

Youth Mental Health Matters: $100,000 (Year 3 of 3, $300,000 total)
A multi-faceted effort to address the unmet mental health needs of a segment of the community’s most vulnerable youth brings counseling professionals and students in training into the Boys & Girls Club to connect with high-need populations in a trusted, accessible setting.
Collaborators: Boys & Girls Club of Greater Green Bay, Foundations, UW-Green Bay Social Field Placement Program

Improving Mental Health for Low-Income Older Adults & Adults with Disabilities: $77,882 (Year 2 of 3, $179,272 total)
This project represents a coordinated response to unmet mental health needs for low-income older adults and adults with disabilities in Brown County. Foundations will embed a resident clinician at the Aging & Disability Resource Center to provide outreach/casual support to build rapport and screen for mental health concerns; individual and group mental health counseling; community educational services; and intensive clinical supervision and training.
Collaborators: Foundations Health & Wholeness, Aging & Disability Resource Center

Resiliency-Based Program for Youth (Algoma Wolf Den): $45,500 (Year 2 of 3, $273,000 total)
A year-round resiliency program for at-risk youth in the Algoma community involves youth as leaders and targeted group activities focused on social and emotional learning. Lack of formal services necessitates an increase in early intervention, and low-intensity services geared toward improving social and emotional skills in youth. These programs are designed to develop those skills, which in turn foster emotional wellbeing overall.
Collaborators: School District of Algoma, UW-Green Bay Social Work Program, St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran School, St. Mary’s Catholic School

ACTIVE GRANTS*

Responding Together to Homelessness in Brown County: ($125,000 total)
A dedicated system navigator and leader will focus on the housing coalition’s mission and strategic objectives: address an inadequate supply of emergency and supportive housing options, provide a common voice in teaching and advocacy and build on providing strong leadership to align committees, resources and communications.
Collaborators: Brown County Homeless & Housing Coalition, Golden House, Ecumenical Partnership for Housing
*Payments made outside of 2019.

Oshkosh Area Community Foundation
$1,437,629 in new grant commitments
$1,048,181 in grants distributed

NEW GRANTS

Youth Mentoring Consolidation: $15,000
To design a program model and hire a program team that will allow for greater depth and breadth of service to the Oshkosh community through a newly restructured organization that merges Best Friends of Neenah-Menasha, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Fox Valley Region.
Collaborators: Best Friends of Neenah-Menasha, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Fox Valley Region

Mentor 2.0: $110,000 (Year 1 of 3, $300,000 total)
To implement a nationally successful, technology-enhanced, vocational mentoring program within Oshkosh North High School that provides individualized support and guidance to empower students to succeed in and after high school.
Collaborators: Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Fox Valley Region and Oshkosh Area School District

Mentoring Program Expansion: $53,100 (Year 1 of 3, $286,500 total)
To grow the mentoring program that was piloted in the Berlin Area School District last year for youth ages 9-17 and launch a similar program partnership with the Green Lake Area School District.
Collaborators: Boys & Girls Club of the Tri-County Area, Berlin Area School District, Green Lake Area School District

Healthy Families Waushara County: $19,484 (Year 1 of 3, $94,938 total)
To offer voluntary nurse home visiting services to parents facing challenges such as single parenthood, low income, and current or previous issues related to substance abuse, mental health issues, and/or domestic violence.
Collaborators: Waushara County Health and Human Services Departments, CAP Services, Aurora Health Care, ThedaCare

Transitional Shelter for Oshkosh Community: $15,000
To research potential locations in Oshkosh for a transitional homeless shelter with supportive services, as well as, build community awareness and support.
Collaborators: COTS, Partnership Community Health Center

Fall Prevention for an Aging Community: $14,550
To create an action plan that ensures all Oshkosh seniors, no matter their income level, can access fall prevention programs and services.
Collaborators: Evergreen Retirement Community, City of Oshkosh Fire Department, Rebuilding Together, Oshkosh Seniors Center, Finding Balance Together, Wellness Plus

State of the Child Deeper Dive: $6,144
To support pilot projects to increase the number of children that receive developmental screenings and enter data into a shared community database.
Collaborators: Valley Packaging Industries – Birth to Three Early Intervention Program, Winnebago County Health Department, Oshkosh Area School District, Davis Child Care Center, ThedaCare, UW Oshkosh Head Start, Family Services of Northeast Wisconsin, Fox Valley Early Childhood Coalition

Early Childhood Programming Alliance: $53,531 (Year 1 of 3, $175,000)
To deliver home visiting services for pregnant women and families with children up to age one that are experiencing risk factors and facilitate community-based parenting programs in Green Lake County.
Collaborators: Children’s Hospital Community Services, Green Lake County Department of Health & Human Services, ThedaCare

Winnebago Catch-A-Ride: $43,000 (Year 1 of 3, $118,000)
To hire a workforce development facilitator to reach out and connect with employers, drivers and riders in order to provide more employment transportation services to individuals who do not qualify or have access to existing transit programs in Winnebago County.
Collaborators: GO-EDC Foundation, LSS/ Make the Ride Happen, Feonix Mobility Rising, Forward Service Corp., East Central Regional Planning Commission

Increasing Family Financial Stability During Baby’s First 3 Years: $30,000
To examine how providing diapers and period products impact financial stability as well as participation in pre-natal/early childhood programs for 100 low-income Oshkosh families with young children.
Collaborators: Jake’s Diapers, Winnebago County Health Department

Rise Up Staffing Capacity: $15,000
To support an additional 0.8 full-time employee clinician and 0.45 full-time employee case manager in order to meet the needs of the higher than anticipated number of students screening positive for mental health concerns as part of the Rise Up program.
Collaborators: Samaritan Counseling Center of the Fox Valley, Oshkosh Area School District, Catalpa Health

MULTI-YEAR GRANTS

Rock the Block Oshkosh: $80,000 (Year 2 of 3, $300,000 total)
Empower residents to revive their low income neighborhoods and enhance their quality of life by working together on home repair, preservation and beautification projects.
Collaborators: Habitat for Humanity of Oshkosh, City of Oshkosh, Greater Oshkosh Healthy Neighborhoods, Inc.

Grade 8 Mental Health Screening in Oshkosh Schools: $10,000 (Year 2 of 2, $27,472 total)
Add 0.35 full-time employee of case management capacity in order to expand mental health wellness screening to 8th graders, which was planned but put on hold due to the higher than anticipated positive screens in grades 9-12 (expected 30% positive screens and actual is 40%).
Collaborators: Samaritan Counseling Center of the Fox Valley, Oshkosh Area School District, Catalpa Health

Recovery House for Men: $35,000 (Year 3 of 3, $170,000 total)
Support a third sober living house for men who no longer require the strict rules that are enforced in Mahalo, the current men’s house, yet who still require some support on their journey of recovery.
Collaborators: Apricity, Nova Counseling Services

Vocational Learning at Apricity: $30,000 (Year 3 of 3, $95,000 total)
Develop a Vocational Training Center located at Apricity to expand the educational opportunities for participants and enhance their ability to secure full-time employment or enroll in higher education.
Collaborators: Fox Valley Technical College, Apricity

Rise Up Program: $100,000 (Year 3 of 3, $300,000 total)
Launch a comprehensive, school-based mental health program that will allow for earlier detection, increased access to services and heightened awareness aimed at building a culture of mental health, reducing stigma and increasing tolerance.
Collaborators: Catalpa Health, Oshkosh Area School District, Samaritan Counseling Center of the Fox Valley

Readers’ Cafe Student Literacy Interventions: $50,000 (Year 3 of 3, $150,000 total)
Increase reading confidence, fluency and proficiency for Boys & Girls Club members that are experiencing academic challenges because of low literacy skills through tutoring, Readers Theaters, choral reading and book clubs.
Collaborators: Winnebago County Literacy Council, Boys & Girls Club of Oshkosh

REGIONAL GRANTS

Regional Community Suicide Prevention Coordinator: $79,500 (Year 1 of 3, $226,000 total)
To hire a staff member who will work on a three-year work plan to build infrastructure enabling our community to respond uniformly and effectively to suicide attempts and completions. Will work to implement the Zero Suicide Framework in healthcare, align systems for prevention and suicide care and assist with the creation of a Tri-County Adult Suicide Death Review.
Collaborators: Samaritan Counseling Center of the Fox Valley, NEW Mental Health Connection members

JumpStart Auto Repair: $75,000 (Year 2 of 2, $200,000 total)
Fund third year of JumpStart, an auto repair business open to the public that uses profits to provide free or low-cost auto services to victims of domestic abuse.
Collaborators: Christine Ann Domestic Abuse Services, Harbor House Domestic Abuse Programs

Titletown Winter Games: $32,924
Create a free winter community event highlighting staying active and healthy choices by showcasing USA Luge, USA Curling, and US Biathlon while focusing on underserved populations specifically youth. Barrier removal for 320 kids/families from 13 nonprofit organizations across the region including winter clothing, transportation and food.
Collaborators: Wello, Weight of the Fox Valley, U.S. Venture

POINT Regional Poverty Initiative: $500,069
The POINT Initiative began through a partnership between the Basic Needs Giving Partnership and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement to accelerate efforts to reduce poverty in a ten-county region. POINT convenes and supports different action groups, facilitates small scale testing, and hosts regional learning sessions throughout the year. Originally focused on introducing continuous improvement methodology to nonprofits and service providers, it has evolved to also support the Basic Needs Giving Partnership in a research, development and strategy role. Through connecting, sparking ideas and sharing data and research, POINT convenes individuals, organizations, and funders across sectors so that all people in NE Wisconsin are self-sufficient and able to fully participate in the life of the community.

NATIONAL GRANT

just keep livin foundation: $400,000
After school fitness programs in 33 inner city high schools. Programs encourage students to make positive life choices that improve their physical and mental health through exercise, teamwork, gratitude, nutrition, and community service. Participating students have a safe place to enhance their lives with fitness coaches and health experts. The results have been incredible. Participants get in shape and gain confidence while also improving their grades, attendance and behavior
Note: The grants represented are based on the fiscal year of the fund and the Basic Needs Giving Partnership. Community foundation Fiscal Years vary.

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About the Basic Needs Giving Partnership
The Basic Needs Giving Partnership aims to end poverty in Northeast Wisconsin. The funds raised through the U.S. Venture Open from generous corporations, family foundations and individuals are administered by grant teams established at three community foundations. The awarded grants support nonprofits collaborating to coordinate services for people in need throughout Northeast Wisconsin, with a focus on the organizations that are embracing continuous improvement, social innovation, shared measurement, sustainability and scalability.

U.S. Venture Open
The U.S. Venture Open is the nation’s single largest one-day charitable event dedicated to ending poverty. It’s held at several regional golf courses: Oneida Golf and Country Club, Green Bay; North Shore Golf Club, Menasha; Thornberry Creek, Oneida, Oneida; Fox Valley Golf Club, Kaukauna; Butte des Morts Country Club, Appleton; Wander Springs Golf Course, Greenleaf.
U.S. Venture underwrites all costs of the event and has done so since the event’s inception. Funds from the event are held within the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation and the Oshkosh Area Community Foundation, with grants made to collaborating non-profit organizations across Northeast Wisconsin.
The event started in 1986 with 100 golfers and has grown to 1,260 attendees representing more than 500 partners who golf at regional courses to raise money for programs that help end poverty. Follow the event on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or visit the U.S. Venture Open website.

About U.S. Venture, Inc.
U.S. Venture is committed to giving back in the communities in which we live, work and play. For more than 65 years, U.S. Venture, Inc. has been recognized as an innovative leader in the distribution of petroleum and renewable energy products, lubricants, and tires and parts for the automotive aftermarket. Guided by its company vision, “Will be the very best provider of transportation products and insight driving the world forward.,” they deliver unconventional, creative solutions that give their customers a competitive edge. Headquartered in Appleton, Wisconsin, the company’s business divisions are U.S. Oil, U.S. AutoForce®, U.S. Lubricants, U.S. Gain, Breakthrough, and IGEN. The company is a major sponsor of the USA Luge team and draws inspiration from the athletes’ high performance – one of the company’s differentiating values.

Contact Information:
Dawn Ruchala
Manager, U.S. Venture Open
[email protected]
920-243-2529

Mary Schmidt
[email protected]
920-284-7165